


Moving On

by Katniss239



Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Bofur is a Sweetheart, Child Abuse, Child Labour Force, Comfort, Crying, F/M, Fluff, Fíli and Kíli are adorable, Hurt, Moving On, Romance, Torture, may add more later
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-03-03
Updated: 2014-04-23
Packaged: 2018-01-14 11:16:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,954
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1264393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katniss239/pseuds/Katniss239
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When the fifteenth member Gandalf promised the company arrives, everyone likes her almost instantly-especially a certain prince. But she holds a dark and miserable past, one that haunts her to this day. Can she finally leave her past behind and look to the future?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Bilbo sighed in frustration as the dwarves continued to make a mess of his house, helpless to do anything other than stand and watch. The dwarves were laughing and singing as they tossed their food about. Gandalf, curse the blasted wizard, was standing there, smoking his pipe and chuckling as if this was the funniest thing he'd ever seen.

It was well into the night before the doorbell rang for the fifth time.

Bilbo found a hoard of curious dwarves following him to the door.

Thorin was at a meeting with the other dwarf lords.

He couldn't have arrived this quickly.

Bilbo opened the door to reveal a figure wrapped in a hooded earth-green cloak and wearing several layers of wool and leather standing on the front porch. Judging by the curvy figure and prominant chest, Bilbo took this person to be a woman. A few locks of dark chestnut hair tumbled out from beneath her hood, and the light gave him a glimpse of a small, hazelnut-toned hand resting on the hilt of a sword, and a bow and quiver full of arrows peaking up over her shoulder. "Bilbo Baggins, I presume?" The stranger asked, in a smooth, liquid accent.

"Uh..uh, yes." Bilbo stuttered.

"May I please...?" She asked, motioning forward.

"Oh, yes, of course." Bilbo replied, pleased that _someone_ was finally showing a bit of decency. The stranger stepped inside, looking rather wary under the curious eyes of the dwarves. The silence was broken by the ever-chreey gray wizard. "Ah! Daerien, my old friend! Good to see you!"

"Nice to see an old friend, Gandalf-no pun intended." The girl replied, flashing a white-toothed smile. This gained her a laugh from the wizard. Just then, Gandalf noticed a dark smear on the girl's cheek. "My dear, are you alright?" He asked. Daerien sighed and said. "I ran into some trouble on the way here-but it's nothing Gandalf. I'm fine, truely." She gave another frustrated sigh when Gandalf thrust her hood back anyway. there were a couple of small gasps from the dwarves as Daerien's face was revealed. Full, chestnut lips, wide, chocolate eyes, and a smooth, flawless face, Daerien was truely something to behold.

A large gash on her right cheek was bleeding fresh.

Gandalf handed his friend a rag to clean it with, and she quietly thanked him.

"Allow me." Daerien turned at the statement to see a blond dwarf with a braided goatee had pushed his way to the front. She couldn't help smiling at him as she handed him the rag, and he gently wiped the blood from her wound. She had to admit, he was quite cute. "Gandalf," she said, not taking her eyes of the blond, "I do believe introductions are in order."

"Oh, right." Gandalf responded, shaking his head as if coming out of a stupor. "Well, you've met Bilbo Baggins, the master of the house, and these dwarves are of the company of Thorin Oakenshield; Dori, Nori, Ori, Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, Oin, Gloin, Dwalin, Balin, Kili, and the dwarf who has so kindly tended to you is Fili." Daerien couldn't stop smiling as Fili took her hand in his and kissed her knuckles. "At your service, milady." He said with a flirtatious grin. This gained him a chuckle from her, and Gandalf said. "You came just in time, my dear. Dinner is all set out."

"Excellent." Daerien replied.  

 

 

***

 

 

_Aydras smiled as he raced onward through the trees._

_His black stallion Corch kicked out simply from the joy of running._

_He had had a very sucessful hunt so far._

_It was when he stopped for lunch, settling among the roots of a towering oak, that something caught his eye. Curious, the scarlet-haired elf crouched for a closer look. He pushed aside the bushes to reveal a line of tracks. These tracks were not made by an animal; these were made by a person, and someone walking barefoot by the look of it. These tracks were too small to belong to someone of his race or of the race of man. Dwarves' footprints were usually deeper, and there were no hobbits in this region. That could only mean that the prints were made by a child, and the idea of a child wandering alone in the woods unsettled Aydras deeply._

_Creeping on hunters feet, he followed the tracks._

_The trail swerved in and out of a river and through streams, and across boulders and tree roots. Whoever this was, they did not want to be followed. That much was obvious. As Aydras continued, he found the tracks were getting more and more fresh. The child must have been very scared, he figured, so he made sure to approach slowly._

_As he came up over a ridge, he halted when he saw a still form collapsed by the stream at the bottom._

_When the unnamed person didn't move, he made his way down to his or her side._

_He had been right in his estimation._

_It was a girl, in her early to mid teenage years by the look of things._

_Her clothes were a disgrace, caked with dried mud and blood and coated in a layer of dust and ash. Her face was covered in mud as well, with dirty tear tracks running down her face. Her body was a patchwork of scars, fresh wounds, and bruises new and old. She needed medical attention, and fast._ _Silently cursing whoever-or whatever- had done this to the poor child, he took her up in his arms and swiftly made his way back to where he had tethered Corch. Holding the girl in the saddle in front of him, Aydras had his horse running at a full-out sprint towards his home town._

 

 

_***_

 

 

_Aydras gave a gusty sigh as he sat at the girl's bedside._

_He and the rangers had done all they could to help her._

_If she survived the night, she would live._

_He brought his hand up to gently stroke the side of her face. "Dear girl, who did this to you?" He whispered. No response came. They had given her enough sleeping draught that she would sleep for at least a day or so. He continued to gaze at her as his thumb circled her cheek. Truthfully, beneath all the scars and bruises, she was quite a beautiful young woman. He leaned forward to kiss her forehead._

_He was becoming increasingly certain that the cause of this was not a some_ thing, _but a some_ one.

_He went to bed that night, silently vowing that he would never let anyone harm her ever again._

 

 

_***_

 

 

Daerien kept to the edge of the crowd of partying dwarves, quietly scarfing down her food as she kept to the shadows. She was not overly fond of crowds. It brought back too many bad memories.

Unfortunately, fate had never been very kind to her.

"Hello." Fili and Kili said together as they walked up to her.

Daerien nodded in reply, smiling at the brothers.

"Why are you over here all by your lonesome?" Kili asked.

Daerien shrugged and replied. "I've just always spent alot of time alone. Seems like a natural thing."

"Come on." Kili said, taking her hand. "Come sit with us." Daerien shook her head, trying to tug her hand free, but Kili's grip wouldn't relent. When she didn't move, Kili turned his head to grin devilishly at his brother. "Fee, I believe desperate times call for desperate measures." He stated.

"I believe you may be right, Kee." The blond replied.

They both turned back to her, and Daerien suddenly began to feel very scared. Just as they lunged for her, Daerien shot down in between Fili's legs, then took off down the hallway with a shout of "You have to catch me first!" The sound of thundering footsteps told her they were giving chase. But she was faster. A lifetime of running away from anything and everything had made her incredibly fast. she ran at a full sprint down the hallways, tossing anything into the path of the two brothers that may have slowed them up. Half of the dwarves were cheering for her, while the other half cheered for the brothers.

Finally, the two of them gave up, calling out 'yeild' as they stopped by the table.

"Mahal, you're fast." Fili gasped.

"Okay...We give..." Kili panted.

"Thank you." Daerien said, grinning evily.   


	2. Chapter 2

_"Please no! Please! I'm sorry! Please don't do this!"_

_Her cries fell on deaf ears as she was dragged into the empty room and tossed onto the cold stone floor. As her arms and legs were bound, a deep, gravelly voice hissed in her ear. "You need to learn respect."_

_Tears started springing from her eyes._

_A bag was tied onto her head, muffling her pleas for mercy._

_She was completely blinded and imobalized, completely at their mercy. And she knew now she would recieve no such thing._

_The first kick landed in her gut._

_Desperately, she tried to crawl away._

_The second kick landed right in her most tender area._

_She was crying in pain as well as fear now._

_She was whimpering and wriggling when she felt her arse exposed to the air. She screamed when she felt the sharp sting of a belt of some sort smacking bare flesh. The first blow of a fist almost winded her._

_And then it was an unending storm of fists, feet and weapons._

_She had stopped praying for help a long time ago._

_No one was coming to save her._

 

 

_***_

 

 

After Daerien showed her claws to Thorin-so to speak-, the dwarf prince had smiled and welcomed her to the company. Fili and Kili had congradulated her on standing up to their uncle. As she listened to the dwarves tell of the dragon Smaug and the destruction of their homeland, she found herself remenicing old memories.

She was broken from her thoughts by Thorin saying. "Well?"

"Well what?" She asked.

"What have you to contribute to this company?" Thorin asked.

"Well, i'm a very fast runner, as you're nephews can tell you first hand." Daerien started.

"It's true." said Kili.

"I am a skilled archer and swordswoman." She continued. "I'm perfectly capable defending myself-and others if need be. I can hunt and scout ahead, should it be requested. I also have a basic medical knowledge, so I could heal any minor injuries you may have." Thorin stared at her for a long moment before he turned his gaze to Gandalf and said. "Very well. We'll do it your way." He turned then to Balin and said. "Give them the contracts." The old dwarf stood and pulled out two pieces of parchment. One of them he handed to Bifur, who then passed it down to Daerien.

"It's just the usual." Balin explained. "Summary of out-of-pocket expenses, time required, remuneration...funeral arrangements, so forth."

"Funeral arrangements?" Squeaked Bilbo as Thorin thrust his contract at him. Daerien skimmed briefly over her contract before she scribbled down her signature and handed it back to Balin.

Everyone watched Bilbo as he read some parts of his contract aloud. "Present company..shall not be liable for injuries sustained by or as a consequence thereof, including but not limited to...lacerations... _Incineration?"_

"Oh, aye, he'll melt the flesh of your bones in the blink of an eye." Bofur replied merrily, unaware that Bilbo's face had turned a sickly green color. Blissfully unaware, Bofur kept going. "Think furnace with wings. Flash of light, searing pain, then poof! You're nothing more than a pile of ash!"

With that said, Bilbo promptly fainted.

 

 

***

 

 

Late that evening, Daerien slipped off down the hall to bathe, completely unaware of her follower. Using all his skills as a hunter, Fili followed her as quiet as possible. When she slipped inside a room, Fili opened the door just enough to peak inside. when he saw her bare form, he released a silent breath.

It wasn't the fact that she was naked he was stunned by.

It was the scars that littered her body that had him stumped.

He had never seen scars like that before.

When he saw the brand mark on her hip, he felt his blood begin to boil. Who-or what-could have brought this about?

When she gazed at herself in the mirror, he felt a twinge of pity.

He thought he had never seen anyone look so forelorn.

He decided right then that he wouldn't ask her until she was ready to tell. Slipping quietly away, he walked back down the hall to join his kinsmen. Daerien never had sight nor sound of him.

She went to sleep that night with the deep singing of the dwarves echoing through her mind.

 

 

***

 

 

Breakfast was done in haste that morning, and the company made their way to the Green Dragon Inn as they waited for Bilbo to catch up. When he didn't show up three or four hours later, the dwarves saddled up their ponies to begin the long journey. Gaerien was given a beautiful cream-colored mare named Sunglass to ride. She had had plenty of experience in the saddle from the time she had spent with the Dunedaine, so she had no trouble keeping up.

The company fell into easy conversation as they followed the wide road beneath great towering trees.

They were keeping the pace slow in case Bilbo showed up.

Sure enough, a shout of "Wait! WAIT!!!" echoed up the road. Everyone pulled their steeds to a halt as Bilbo came racing up, waving the ubsurdly long contract in the air. "I signed it!" He announced, handing the parchment to Balin.

"Everything appears to be in order." Balin said after a moment. "Welcome, Master Baggins, to the company of Thorin Oakenshield." There were a few scattered cheers from the company-Gaerien even giving him a bit of applause. "Give him a pony." Thorin growled, not looking impressed in the least.

"Oh, no, no, no, that won't be neccasary." Bilbo started as the company moved again. "I'm sure I can keep up on foot. I've done my fair share of walking holidays, you know. Even got as far as Frogmorten once-GAH!" His speech was cut short when Fili and Kili scooped him up and dropped him onto the back of a small tawny pony. Everyone laughed at Bilbo, who looked as if he expected the pony to bolt at any moment. The pace quickened now that Bilbo had arrived. Those who had won the bet on wether or not Bilbo would come were tossed their prize.

As they rode, the dwarves began to sing and tell jokes.

"Miss Daerien," said Bofur, "we were wondering if you had any songs you could sing."

"Oh...n-no, i'm not much of a singer. I can't sing." She muttered, casting her gaze down at Sunglass's withers.

"Lass, we care not wether one can sing well." Balin coaxed gently. "We sing to make merry and be together. Go on. We will not judge." The others voiced their own agreements to the old dwarf. There was a moment's pause before Daerien said. "Well...I do know of one. But it's sung in another language, so you won't understand it."

"That's alright, miss." Bofur replied. "Whatever you want to sing is fine."

"Alright.." Daerien muttered. There was a long moment before she began to sing. She sang in a high voice. No one else understood the words, but the song sounded...remorseful. Sad. As if pleading for something.

Gandalf's attention was fixed on her as well.

He had heard every language in Middle Earth, and was fluent in most of them, but he had never heard this tongue before. When she finished, there was an intense silence broken only by the clatter of pony hooves. After what seemed like an eternity, Daerien said. "I'll scout ahead." She gave Sunglass a sharp kick in the side and rode away before anyone could ask any questions. When she was out of earshot, Bilbo asked. "Have you ever heard a language like that Gandalf?"

"I can't say that I have." The gray wizard replied, looking intensely curious.

"Maybe we should ask her about it." Kili suggested.

"No lad." Balin said. "She obviously doesn't want to talk right now. Let her be. She'll talk when she's ready." 


	3. Chapter 3

_"Auntie! Please no! I'll do better! I promise!"_

_The woman looked down at the sobbing child with cold, unfeeling eyes._

_She didn't care for the child._

_The little brat would be out of her hands, and she'd have one less mouth to feed. She watched the agent come forth. The little girl shot out of his grip and fell to her knees in front of her aunt. "Please! Please Aunty! Don't let them take me! I'll do better! I'll be good! Promise! Please don't send me away!"_

_The woman grimaced in disgust and stepped away from the girl._

_Both agents came forward and took hold of the little girl then._

_The little girl screamed and kicked, but it was a futal effort against two fully grown, fully fit men. She was carried outside to a truck, and set down near the bed. One of the men crouched in front of the sobbing child, shushing her gently. "Hey, hey." He said softly. "Everything's going to be okay."  Not for a minute did she believe him, but he continued anyway. "Now, you do what we tell you, don't argue with us, don't try to fight us, and we'll get along just fine."_

_She didn't stop crying as she was lifted into the truck, and the tarp was pulled down, cloaking the entire bed of the truck in darkness._

_She felt hands touch her shoulder and arm._

_Children's hands._

_There were other children in the truck._

_She looked around, and saw seven other pairs of eyes in the darkness._

_Slowly, she crawled over to them, and the eight children huddled together, taking comfort in each other as they were taken from their homes and everything they had ever known._

 

 

***

 

 

Gaerien was jolted awake as an ear-splitting screech cut through the night.

"What was that?" Asked Bilbo.

"Orcs." Kili said ominously, and a second scream cut through the dark.

"Orcs?" Bilbo echoed, coming over to stand beside the two princes.

"Throat-cutters." Fili said, as if it were no big deal. "There'll be dozens of them out there. The Lone-Lands are crawling with them."

"They strike in the wee small hours when everyone's asleep." Kili added in a much darker tone. "Quick and quiet, no screams, just lots of blood." Bilbo's eyes went as wide as saucers, and he threw frightened glances around the camp, as if he expected an orc pack to jump out and attack at any time.

Fili and Kili snickered at their successful teasing.

"You think that's funny?" Thorin's baritone voice made them go silent. "You think a night rade by orcs is a joke?"

"We didn't mean anything by it." Kili murmured, looking very much like a sad puppy.

"No you didn't." Thorin growled. "You know nothing of the world." The brothers looked crestfallen at their uncle's scolding.

"Don't mind him, laddies." Balin coaxed as he came over to stand beside the fire. Everyone, including Gaerien, listened in as Balin told the story of the battle of Azanualbizar, how the Pale Orc murdered Thorin's grandfather, how Thorin's father was driven mad by grief and dissapeared. Gaerien turned her gaze to Thorin, who had his back turned to them, and was gazing up at the moon.

When Balin finished the story, Thorin turned back around, and was a little surprised to find all the dwarves were awake and gazing at him with sympathetic eyes.

He kept a stoic face as he marched back to his bedroll.

"And the Pale Orc?" Bilbo asked. "What happened to him?"

"He slunk back into the hole whence he came." Thorin answered. "That filth died of his wounds long ago."

It was as everyone was settling back down that Fili noticed Gaerien had slipped off.  Curious, he went off to look for her. He had only been searching for about twenty minutes when he found her, crouched beside a river. When he heard her speaking, he stopped. She was speaking in a language he didn't understand-the same language she had sung in. When he heard his name, he became even more curious.

When she finished speaking and sat in silence, he decided to approach.

"My lady." He said softly, making her jump to her feet.

"You scared me!" she exclaimed, laughing breathlessly.

He laughed with her for a few moments before he said. "You should not be wandering alone out here."

"And why are you suddenly so concerned for my safety?" He asked.

 _Because you're beautiful, because I hate to see you sad, because I want kiss you, because I want to hold you, because I want to make you happy, because I want to make you mine._ He didn't say any of this. Instead he said. "I am merely looking out for a fellow member of the company."

"Ah." Gaerien replied, giving him a smile that suggested she didn't believe him at all.

Fili couldn't help smiling as well, then stepped to the side, motioning toward the camp.

 

 

***

 

The next day, they were all soaked to the skin by a load of rain.

Daerien imagined their supplies would be soaked when they unpacked at the end of the day. Sunglass kept shaking her mane to try and rid it of the water, but that only suceeded in getting her rider even more wet.

"'ere, Mist Gandalf," Dori called out, "can't you do something about this deluge?"

"It is raining, Master Dwarf," The gray wizard responded, "and it will continue to rain until the rain is done. If you wish to change the weather of the world, you should find yourself another wizard."

"Are there any?" Bilbo asked. "Other Wizards?"

"There are five of us." Gandalf answered. "The greatest of our order is Saruman, the White. Then there are the two blue wizards.....you know, I've quite forgotten their names."

"And who is the fifth?" Bilbo asked.

"Well, that would be Radagast the Brown." Gandalf replied.

"Is he a great wizard, or is he...more like you?" Bilbo inquired. Gaerien couldn't help snickering a little at Bilbo bold comment. There was a moment of silence before Gandalf said. "I think he is a very great wizard, in his own way. He's a gentle soul that prefers the company of animals to others. He keeps a watchful eye over the vast forest lands to the east, and a good thing too, for always, evil will look to find a foothold in this world."

A gentle soul.

That was something that Gaerien's childhood had held a precious few of.

 

 

***

 

 

The rain finally stopped when they reached the ruins of an old farmhouse.

"We'll camp here for the night." Thorin called out from the front of the group. "Fili, Kili, Gaerien, look after the ponies. Make sure you stay with them." Gaerien dismounted from Sunglass and started to untack her. She had been working with the others to set everything up for about five minutes when Gandalf went stomping past. "Everything alright? Gandalf, where are you going?" exclaimed Bilbo.

"To seek the company of the only one around here who's got any sense." Gandalf growled.

"And who's that?" Bilbo pressed.

" _Myself_ Master Baggins!" Gandalf snapped, not breaking stride. As he marched past, Gaerien heard him growl. "I've had enough of dwarves for one day." Thorin sneered in the wizards direction, then said. "Come on, Bombur, we're hungry."

Gaerien rolled her eyes, paying no mind to the angry dwarf, and led three ponies at once in the direction of the two princes.     


End file.
